Numbers 2:1-34

The Old Testament Book of Numbers

In the Desert

Numbers

Marion Adams

Chapter 2

The position of the *tribes in the camp – Numbers 2:1-34

v1 The *LORD gave instructions to Moses and Aaron v2 about how to set up the *Israelites’ camp. The *LORD said:

‘Each man must camp under his *tribe’s flag, and by his own family’s flag, too. *God’s Tent will be in the middle of the *tribes’ camps. But the *tribes must not camp close to it.

The three *tribes in Judah’s group

v3 Judah’s *tribe must camp by their flag to the east of *God’s Tent. The *tribes that walk with Judah’s *tribe must camp there, too. The leader of Judah’s *tribe is Nahshon, Amminadab’s son. v4 There are 74 600 soldiers in his group.

v5 Issachar’s *tribe must camp on one side of Judah’s *tribe. Their leader is Nethanel, Zuar’s son. v6 There are 54 400 soldiers in his group.

v7 Zebulun’s *tribe must camp on the other side of Judah’s *tribe. Their leader is Eliab, Helon’s son. v8 There are 57 400 soldiers in his group.

v9 All three groups in Judah’s camp total 186 400 soldiers. They must set out first.

The three *tribes in Reuben’s group

v10 Reuben’s *tribe must camp by their flag to the south of *God’s Tent. The *tribes that walk with Reuben’s *tribe must camp there, too. The leader of Reuben’s *tribe is Elizur, Shedeur’s son. v11 There are 46 500 soldiers in his group.

v12 Simeon’s *tribe must camp on one side of Reuben’s *tribe. The leader of Simeon’s *tribe is Shelumiel, Zurishaddai’s son. v13 There are 59 300 soldiers in his group.

v14 Gad’s *tribe must camp on the other side of Reuben’s *tribe. The leader of Gad’s *tribe is Eliasaph, Deuel’s son. v15 There are 45 650 soldiers in his group.

v16 All three groups in Reuben’s camp total 151 450 soldiers. They must set out second, after the three groups in Judah’s camp.

The camp of Levi’s *tribe and *God’s tent

v17 Levi’s *tribe must set out behind Reuben’s *tribe. They must walk between the first two groups and the last two groups of *tribes. They must walk in the same order as they camped. They must carry *God’s Tent and their own flags.

The three *tribes in Ephraim’s group

v18 Ephraim’s *tribe must camp by their flag to the west of *God’s Tent. The *tribes that walk with Ephraim’s *tribe must camp there, too. The leader of Ephraim’s *tribe is Elishama, Ammihud’s son. v19 There are 40 500 soldiers in his group.

v20 Manasseh’s *tribe must camp on one side of Ephraim’s *tribe. The leader of Manasseh’s *tribe is Gamaliel, Pedahzur’s son. v21 There are 32 200 soldiers in his group.

v22 Benjamin’s *tribe must camp on the other side of Ephraim’s *tribe. The leader of Benjamin’s *tribe is Abidan, Gideoni’s son. v23 There are 35 400 soldiers in his group.

v24 All three groups in Ephraim’s camp total 108 100 soldiers. They must set out third, behind Reuben’s camp.

The three *tribes in Dan’s group

v25 Dan’s *tribe must camp by their flag to the north of *God’s Tent. The *tribes that walk with them must camp there, too. The leader of Dan’s *tribe is Ahiezer, Ammishaddai’s son. v26 There are 62 700 soldiers in his group.

v27 Asher’s *tribe must camp on one side of Dan’s *tribe. The leader of Asher’s *tribe is Pagiel, Ocran’s son. v28 There are 41 500 soldiers in his group.

v29 Naphtali’s *tribe must camp on the other side of Dan’s *tribe. The leader of Naphtali’s *tribe is Ahira, Enan’s son. v30 There are 53 400 soldiers in his group.

v31 All three groups in Dan’s camp total 157 600 soldiers. They must set out last with their flags.’

The arrangement of the camp

v32 Moses and his helpers had counted all the *Israelite men who were able to fight. They had counted them in groups. The total number of soldiers was 603 550. v33 But they did not register the men in Levi’s *tribe. The *LORD had ordered Moses not to do this.

v34 So the *Israelites did everything that the *LORD had told Moses to do. They arranged their camp in the way that the *LORD wanted. Each *tribe camped under its own flag. When they set out, each man walked with his own *clan and his own family.

Verses 1-34 God told Moses and Aaron how to arrange the *Israelites’ camp. So each person knew the exact place where they must put their tent.

The *tribes formed a square with *God’s Tent in the middle. In the 13^th century *BC, the army of Egypt camped in a square. (BC is the period of time before Jesus was born.) The king’s tent was in the middle. In the *Israelites’ camp, *God’s Tent was in the middle, because God was *Israel’s king.

Levi’s *tribe camped in the space between the other *tribes and *God’s Tent. They looked after it. They did not allow the other *Israelites to come too close to *God’s Tent.

The *tribes camped in four groups. There were three *tribes in each group. The *tribes of Judah, Reuben, Ephraim and Dan commanded one group each. Each group had its own flag. They would carry this flag in a battle. Also, each *tribe had its own flag. There was a *Jewish tradition that the *tribes’ flags were the colours of the 12 jewels (precious stones) in the *High Priest’s special clothes (Exodus 28:15-24). But there is nothing in the Bible about the colours of the flags.

It seems the *tribes had to camp in order of importance. East was the most important position. It was on the same side as the entrance to *God’s Tent. So the largest and most important group of *tribes (Judah’s group) looked after it. Reuben’s group of *tribes camped on the south side. Ephraim’s group camped on the west side. Lastly, Dan’s group camped on the north side.

Whenever the *Israelites travelled, the *tribes had to walk in this same order. Levi’s *tribe carried the parts of *God’s Tent. They walked between the other *tribes. *God’s Tent should have reminded them that God was with them always. When they camped, God was with them. When they travelled, God travelled with them.

God told Moses and Aaron to arrange the camp in a military way. Every time the *Israelites set off, they marched as an army. They had to be ready to fight for the *Promised Land.

LORD ~ a special name for God that his people use. In Hebrew, it is Yahweh. This name means something like ‘I am’ or ‘always alive’.

Lord ~ one who rules. God is the Lord who rules everyone.

Hebrew ~ the language of the *Jews.
Israel ~ the Israelites and their nation.
BC ~ the period of time before Jesus was born.
Jewish ~ the word that describes a *Jew or anything that belongs to the *Jews.'High Priest ~ the most important priest.'Promised Land ~ the country that God promised to give to Abraham and his *descendants.